Used electric vehicle sales see major boost
The used car market in the UK has fallen by 18.8% in the second quarter of 2022, while battery electric vehicles saw a boost of 57.1%, according to new data.
Battery electric vehicles now make up one in 105 used car purchases, reveals analysis by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales rose 57.1% to reach 16,782 units, doubling market share to 1.0%, while plug-in hybrids held relatively stable with 1.0% growth and 0.9% of the market.
Hybrids (HEVs), meanwhile, declined by -4.0% with 2.4% of the market. As a result, used petrol and diesel vehicles remained dominant, totalling 1,682,280 units and accounting for 95.6% of sales.
The ongoing shortage of semiconductors continued to impact new car market supply, which had an ‘inevitable’ knock-on effect on used transactions according to the SMMT.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive said: ‘It was inevitable that the squeeze on new car supply would filter through to the used market. Despite this, Britain’s used car buyers clearly have a growing appetite for the latest low and zero emission cars, and we need a thriving new car market to feed it.
‘The next Prime Minister must create the conditions to drive consumer confidence, especially in EVs, to drive the fleet renewal necessary to meet our decarbonisation goals.’
In related news, with electric vehicle ownership increasing as we get closer to the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles, new research reveals that EVs are most popular among drivers in Reading.
Reading has the highest insurance enquiries for electric vehicles (EVs) relative to its population, according to research from MoneySuperMarket.
The research from MoneySuperMarket reveals the Berkshire-based town has the highest number of insurance enquiries for EVs than anywhere else in the UK, at 2,016 per 100,000 people in the town in the past year.
This was 8% higher than Guildford (1,866 enquiries for every 100,000 people), which took second place.
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